CHINATOWNs

[PJ]

We Chinese do have a pretty mighty presence overseas... probably there's more Chinatowns than any other ethnic ___towns?

So of all the ones I've been to, I think my favorite one is.....

I don't know!

I haven't been that impressed with any of them... and I haven't been to that many yet.

Which ones do you like/hate/recommend?

Please note, this is not limited to any country.

p.s. does Shanghai still have a Chinatown? I know they used to when the Japanese occupied the city...

[LuNaR]

only been to 2 chinatowns, the san francisco one and the los angeles one, and i gotta say, the sf one rocks (ok im being a bit of a homer, but still )

[Radken]

No, Los Angeles Chinatown does kinda suck. One Chinese New Year there was a promotion that Kelly Hu would be the Grand Marshal for the parade. On the day of the event she didn't show up and the organizers announced her 16 year old daughter would take her place. Turns out she didn't show up either (I should know. Me and my friend ran around Chinatown just to catch a glimpse.) and the funny thing is, she doesn't even have a daughter.

[Ren Ying Ying]

only been to 2 chinatowns, the san francisco one and the los angeles one, and i gotta say, the sf one rocks (ok im being a bit of a homer, but still )

LA's chinatown is actually located in monterey park...
j/k

[bella25]

We Chinese do have a pretty mighty presence overseas... probably there's more Chinatowns than any other ethnic ___towns?

So of all the ones I've been to, I think my favorite one is.....

I don't know!

I haven't been that impressed with any of them... and I haven't been to that many yet.

Which ones do you like/hate/recommend?

Please note, this is not limited to any country.

p.s. does Shanghai still have a Chinatown? I know they used to when the Japanese occupied the city...

Are'nt all towns in China 'Chinatown'? OK, I know what you mean, where Ah Liangs and Ah Bengs live and work? Dirty, crowded, spitting here and there, where sophisticated westernised Chinese only go for the cheap food. Aiiiyahh, look at Singapore, it's spick 'n span.

[GuGu]

Thailand's Chinatown Yao Wah Rut is the best Chinatown outside of China.

[imthatlady]

i've only been to the ones in Boston, NYC, LA, and Toronto.
i supposedly heard Boston has one of the yummy-est Dim Sum?
and i love NYC for the bargain shopping..and it's ****ing huge! <333
Toronto's chinatown is okay too though i don't remember them having much outside shops and stands?
and i don't remember LA's all that well but i do remember it was pretty dead haha.

oh, right. i've also been to the Chinatown in Vietnam.

[CrazyT]

Houston's chinatown - Absolutely HUGE. From end to end, it's probably 2 miles long. Fill with a lot of good restaurants and shopping centers. But with its size, you'll need a car to traverse the area. That means no walking.

NYC's chinatown - Another absolutely HUGE chinatown. I actually got lost in it because everything looks the same! Since it's a big block and not a long strip, walking is not a problem. And people sell stuffs on the street! Really gave me that authenic china feeling.

Toronto's chinatown - I was there at night, when everything was closed. But from what little I saw, it was in a good area with lots of stores to look around. Similiar to NYC but on a smaller scale.

Denver's chinatown - Not much to mention here. A few shopping centers spread around the area.

[big master]

is ongpin in the philippines considered chinatown?

[Tom]

Houston's chinatown - Absolutely HUGE. From end to end, it's probably 2 miles long. Fill with a lot of good restaurants and shopping centers. But with its size, you'll need a car to traverse the area. That means no walking.

NYC's chinatown - Another absolutely HUGE chinatown. I actually got lost in it because everything looks the same! Since it's a big block and not a long strip, walking is not a problem. And people sell stuffs on the street! Really gave me that authenic china feeling.

The Houston one isn't really completely a "Chinatown". It has a lot of Vietnamese stores as well. Heck, most of the stores are ran by Viets. There's a lot of shopping centers with a lot of stores but it isn't my favorite Chinatown.

The Manhattan Chinatown is probably my favorite one. It has a lot of stores and it is VERY big. You can buy wuxia series, rent series, buy bootlegs, etc. The selection of things is just so wide. And I love how they have at least 2 or 3 restaurants on each block.

[PJ]

Denver's chinatown - Not much to mention here. A few shopping centers spread around the area.

Is that really a Chinatown, with a big gate and everything?

Anyway, here's a few more in addition to what's already been mentioned.

Philadelphia Chinatown - didn't have much time to explore; not particularly memorable... but it is a bona-fide Chinatown.

Chicago Chinatown - this is the one I'm most familiar with... had some good memories here. Lots of tasty restaurants, but not a very big Chinatown. Bubble tea is a must if you come here. There's also a river on the backside.

Amsterdam Chinatown - only footsteps away from the Red Light District, Laviathan and I had dinner here

Paris Chinatown - didn;t see anything of particular interest here, but it's here if you are craving Chinese food in Paris...

[MysteriouX]

Well I'm not sure I can say which chinatown is my favorite, been to quite a few, but I do know which one is NOT:

London chinatown, or what they try to pass off as chinatown. chinese food there tastes more like chinese style fast food, not those fancy 100 ingredient chinese cooking that you would find in hk, sg, bkk, ny, sf, tk, etc.

Though thats the only chinatown in Europe that I've been to, not even sure if there is a chinatown anywhere else in europe, probably France has some nice ones but never went around paris much so can't say for sure.

[Jilly]

LA's chinatown is actually located in monterey park...
j/k

Then might as well mention Alhambra, Arcadia, San Gabriel, Rowland Heights, and Walnut

[Ren Ying Ying]

Then might as well mention Alhambra, Arcadia, San Gabriel, Rowland Heights, and Walnut

yes...it's "china county" rather than chinatown i suppose. though...a lot of the inhabitants arn't actually chinese.

[bellamia]

Houston's chinatown - Absolutely HUGE. From end to end, it's probably 2 miles long. Fill with a lot of good restaurants and shopping centers. But with its size, you'll need a car to traverse the area. That means no walking.

I was very disappointed with the Chinatown in Houston. There are lots of restaurants, but not enough shops. There is only one shopping center, shoot, I forgot the name of it, but there aren't too many interesting shops in there either.

This is no disrespect intended, but compares to other ethnic towns such as, Korean towns, Japanese towns, and some Vietnamese towns, Chinatowns are very ghetto in comparison. Most Chinatowns that I have visited has old, run-down buildings, and are extremely dirty and noisy. They always remind me of the fish markets back home and gives me the “ghetto” feelings.

I enjoyed the Chinatown in Sydney the most because it is much cleaner than the ones in the states, I suppose. San Francisco’s Chinatown is huge, but it is very easy to walk around. Just don’t go there are on the weekends if you don’t want to get squashed.

[PJ]

This is no disrespect intended, but compares to other ethnic towns such as, Korean towns, Japanese towns, and some Vietnamese towns, Chinatowns are very ghetto in comparison. Most Chinatowns that I have visited has old, run-down buildings, and are extremely dirty and noisy. They always remind me of the fish markets back home and gives me the “ghetto” feelings.

Kinda like how China is
(minus the few megatroplexes)

[Ren Ying Ying]

I was very disappointed with the Chinatown in Houston. There are lots of restaurants, but not enough shops. There is only one shopping center, shoot, I forgot the name of it, but there aren't too many interesting shops in there either.

This is no disrespect intended, but compares to other ethnic towns such as, Korean towns, Japanese towns, and some Vietnamese towns, Chinatowns are very ghetto in comparison. Most Chinatowns that I have visited has old, run-down buildings, and are extremely dirty and noisy. They always remind me of the fish markets back home and gives me the “ghetto” feelings.

I enjoyed the Chinatown in Sydney the most because it is much cleaner than the ones in the states, I suppose. San Francisco’s Chinatown is huge, but it is very easy to walk around. Just don’t go there are on the weekends if you don’t want to get squashed.

most of the chinatowns tend to be the "older" congregations of chinese, whereas many chinese immigrants nowadays tend to establish in other cities (at least true in california). thus, no one really cares about "reconstruction" of chinatown or cleaning it up, except maybe for tourist attractions. in fact, some people don't even feel like it's "chinatown" unless you got the smelly butcher shops, people pushing each other out of the way to grab the vegetables, or the "chinese novelty & random items stores"

[pemberly]

i'm have to take some time and think about which is my fav chinatown.

but i know my least favorite. i hate the washington dc chinatown. it's so fake.

[CanDEE]

NYC chinatown is my FAVORITE..HUGE and crazy..feel like i'm in HK ( just a feeling from watching TVB series..)---One of my friend is so in love with Julian Chilam but we couldn't go to HK to see him so we took a trip to NYC Chinatown because he was doing a concert there...It was so awesome....so many chinese people.dirty restaurant..mean people..we love it...it was so much fun and it felt like we were in HK>>

this is what we were doing on the streets of Chinatown..kissing all his pics..

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[imthatlady]

i'm have to take some time and think about which is my fav chinatown.

but i know my least favorite. i hate the washington dc chinatown. it's so fake.

what do u mean by 'fake'?

most of the chinatowns tend to be the "older" congregations of chinese, whereas many chinese immigrants nowadays tend to establish in other cities (at least true in california). thus, no one really cares about "reconstruction" of chinatown or cleaning it up, except maybe for tourist attractions. in fact, some people don't even feel like it's "chinatown" unless you got the smelly butcher shops, people pushing each other out of the way to grab the vegetables, or the "chinese novelty & random items stores"

haha i agree. i don't mind the "ghetto-ness" of it. that's what makes it CHINATOWN neways i actually enjoy going to chinatowns like that haha. i remember how i disliked LA's chinatown because it was really spaced out and clean compared to others